Nor-Cal Wine Trip Inspirations
 

I'm looking for inspiration in the planning of wine trips to the Northern California wine regions. My main interests are Sonoma and Napa, because I'm most familiar with them, but the up-and-coming areas like Suisun Valley and Sierra Foothills are on my radar as well.
My (previous) main internet reference no longer exists, so I'm hoping that friends here can fill that void for me. Would you share the details of your recent trips? I am feeling 'in a rut' and hope to find some new and different perspectives-planning ideas: itineraries; events to watch for and plan around; resources; tours that may not be well-known; things to skip altogether; servers who are worth asking for.... anything you feel is noteworthy for enhancing a wine country trip would be appreciated.

Thanks

otherfootloose,

I really enjoy wine and over the last 5 years have been visiting other well-known wine regions in the northwest.

The last time I visited Napa I swore I would never go back.

The other wine producing areas are still financially within reach and are making some very incredible, fabulous wine. Look around.....

The Anderson valley produces some fine wines.

https://www.google.com/#q=Anderson+Valley+wineries

I live in the Sierra Foothills of CA. My dad lives in Napa. I have visited Napa wineries twice in the past two months. Too expensive and you usually do not get to meet the owners or wine makers. I remember visiting many in the 1970's and it was totally different.

There are many, many small wineries in El Dorado, Placer, Calaveras and Amador Counties. The most I pay for tasting is $5 per person (and many are free). Much of this area is along Hwy 49, known for small Gold country towns. This area is known for their reds (Zinfandel in particular), but grow many varietals. I love talking to the owners and winemakers while tasting their wines. Some of the wines surpass the Napa/Sonoma wines IMHO. I can list some of my favorites in the area should you want to visit the area.

Recently I had friends from the midwest visit. We spent four days visiting wineries in the Sierra Foothills. We also visited a former gold mine and Coloma, where gold was discovered in CA in 1849.

Loads of other wine appellations in CA. I have visited many. I also love the Los Olivos area (near Solvang) also.

So many wineries, so little time....

Have to agree with BarbAnn, love those wineries near Placerville and in Amador county.

I have to also agree with BarbAnn. We have been to Napa, Sonoma, Paso and Amador County. Far prefer Amador County over all the others. Much more down to earth IMO. Tons of wineries, fantastic wines and beautiful scenery also.

Well this is all very interesting, and thanks! I have a limited knowledge of those areas, but will definitely do more research. If any of you have good resources to suggest, please share!
The vast majority of our experience is in Sonoma, and it really is my favorite between the two biggies...
Do any of you know much about the western part of the county- where the new "coastal" AVA has been designated?
And there seems to be a slew of new wineries in Sonoma County in the last 5 years...I'm always wanting to learn more about the new places.

http://www.amador360.com/winery-map.html
http://www.amadorwine.com/wineries/
http://www.suttercreek.org/amador-co...e-tasting.html
http://www.touramador.com/wineries

Just look at the map..there are sooo many wineries in this area, plus cute little towns to wander around.

Not sure which new AVA, but here is a list:

http://www.sonomawine.com/about-sono...y-appellations

This is a high elevation vineyard west of Dry Creek. Nice.

http://www.gfvineyard.com/index.php

There are also nice wineries in the Delta, Clarksburg AVA,
http://www.clarksburgwinecountry.com
http://www.oldsugarmill.com

And Lodi : http://www.lodiwine.com

In the SF Bay Area:

http://www.livermorewinemap.com/
https://www.lvwine.org/itinerary-planner.php

This looks like a good resource
http://www.livermorewinemap.com/?p=wineregions

Utahtea

WOW!!! thanks for all the quick replies!

I will check out these resources. Does anyone have specific winery recommendations? We like most anything that's red except pinot noirs and petite sirahs ( we drink those but don't prefer them), and like dry whites- unoaked Chards and citrusy Sauv. Blanc in particular. We've enjoyed looking into Rhone and Italian varietals as well.

Depends where you end up. Foothills and Lodi are known for Zinfandel. Clarksburg for Chenin, Petite Sirah and has nice whites.

The Delta/Clarksburgh and foothills are IMO much more enjoyable 'nowadays' than Napa. The traffic along hwy 29 through the Napa Valley is often HORRIBLE and so many of the wineries are just 'too precious' by half. Some great wines to be sure -- but just so much 'stuff' to deal with.

I especially love exploring the Shenandoah Valley area just outside Plymouth in Amador County. It is like Napa/Sonoma were 30 years ago. Mostly free tasting (some charge but only nominal), drive up and taste -- no appointments necessary, often you are talking to the winemaker him/herself, beautiful scenery.

Just nicer/easier all around. And a really wonderful restaurant - Taste, in Plymouth.

http://www.restauranttaste.com/newtaste/pages/index.cgi

We recently did a short trip to the Dry Creek area.

Many of the wineries are on the Visa Signature program.

I covered the wineries we were able to try in the first part of my trip report.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...eport-back.cfm

Hi Otherfootloose,

Hope this will help. But as someone mentioned, you may want to try the Anderson Valley to get out of your rut. We used to be big Sonoma and Napa people, but both just became so prohibitively expensive, that it was ridiculous. We gravitated north to Mendocino. There are some great wineries with excellent wines - Maple Creek, for example. Also, while they are gravitating toward the bigger "industrial" side, Navarro and Edmeades also produce quality wines.

Of course, there are not a lot of options for lodging! We discovered the new "Heritage House" in Mendocino - while they are still working on it, it is nice and you can get some good deals. Further inland in Philo, we found "The Madrones" which is like an Italian Villa.

Good luck in planning your trip!

Russian River and Anderson Valley are much like Napa and Sonoma were 30 years ago. There is distance between wineries and you can find tasting rooms that are run by people who actually make wine rather than the hired hand salespeople.

As for your varietal preferences, try some new tastes. I bet you'll like viognier, and there are many others.

Actually, I love viognier! Do You have vendors to suggest?

Sister wineries: Villa Toscano and Bella Piazza out of Plymouth, CA. The owners went out of their way to welcome us and even sat at a table with us for several hours sharing their knowledge about the industry. As new vineyard owners, that spoke volumes to us about the type of owners we aspire to be.

WOW...isn't that what makes wine such a great industry? The attitude of "share and share alike" is so prevalent among winery owners! Lucky you to have such an experience.

Since you are fond of reds, I will recommend a very small winery , but it is in southern Napa. Tulocay Winery in Coombsville http://www.tulocay.com/

It's basically a one man show, no sign at the driveway, fantastic low production wines with grapes from very special microclimates. You need to call or email for a tasting appointment. Ours was on Bill Cadman's back porch, nibbling bread and cheese as he opened bottles. Wonderful Cabs and Zins and Syrrah, and his wine may change your opinion of Pinot Noir. Some of the best Merlot and Chardonnay, too. Decent prices. Tell Bill that the doctor from Long Island recommended you.

By all means, avoid Napa and Sonoma if price and traffic are of primary significance to you. On the other hand, if you're going to wine country for the wine... don't ask for advice here.

I do not doubt that California was lovely everywhere 30 years ago, when grass was green and grain was yellow. And I know that retirees on fixed incomes can get very stroppy about paying an extra $5 for a wine tasting. But saying that Napa and Sonoma are just not worth the effort any more is simply pique masquerading as expertise--it's bad advice. Because the wine made there is great. Not cheap, but great.

That said, I love the Anderson Valley, to name just one place that isn't Napa or Sonoma. But most of what is made there is pinot noir.

My goodness -- for someone who doesn't live out here you do get 'stroppy' when we <i>suggest</i> Napa/Sonoma aren't the be all end all.

The OP asked for alternatives and specifically mentioned the foothills and delta areas. . . and we gave lots of useful information about <u>alternatives</u> - so get off your high horse.

You love Napa - great -- but this is not the first time you ave attacked others w/ different ideas.

<i>But most of what is made there is pinot noir.</i>

Not at Navarro nor at Husch, to cite only two of the vineyards in the Anderson Valley.

Pardon me, I am not attacking anyone. I am saying that advising a visitor to avoid Napa and Sonoma is bad advice. It's not the first time I;ve said this because it's not the first time that this bad advice has been given.

The OP said "My main interests are Sonoma and Napa, because I'm most familiar with them, but the up-and-coming areas like Suisun Valley and Sierra Foothills are on my radar as well."

It's not an either/or. Don't avoid Napa, don't avoid Sonoma, and don't avoid less famous wine areas--it's all good.

Michael, Navarro and Husch make wines other than pinot, yes. I said that most of what is made there is pinot, and I stand by that. I never said nothing else is made there.

<i>Navarro and Husch make wines other than pinot, yes. I said that most of what is made there is pinot, and I stand by that. I never said nothing else is made there.</i>

From the little experience I have had there, I think that Scharffenberger and Roederer are probably the main ones to concentrate on pinot noir for their bubbly. When purchased as a still wine (available only at the winery), their pinot noir tends to be more like the German/Austrian pinot noir.

I take the correction: reds tend to be pinot noir, but there is a large variety of whites.

Oh MY! Didn't mean to start a firestorm folks!
I appreciate all the input- regardless of where your preferred visits are. Mostly, I am hoping to find new wineries, and new wines---Napa, Sonoma, Amador, Lodi....its all great input for my needs/interests!!

We've spent roughly 10 years visiting Sonoma County, with some visits to Napa thrown in for "good measure". And I really love Sonoma County wines; but I know that my usual haunts are just the tip of an iceberg and I'm looking for options that will not only improve my wine experience but, hopefully broaden my palate as well.

I understand and appreciate the differences in opinion- its what makes this such an interesting journey! I take everyone's replies as the opinions of interested parties with similar interest...some things will work for me, others won't, but its all an education that I welcome, so PLEASE!
feel free to offer your thoughts and suggestions.

AJPeabody- this sounds like a winery that I need to visit! Its that sort of very small, unpretentious place that I am searching for. thanks for this tip and please share if you have more... :)

otherfootloose, my favorite little-known winery in the Dry Creek AVA is Unti. Excellent Italian varietals, some other things, too, organic, small production--I hope you will add it to your list!

I have heard of Unti! Actually, I have tried to visit Unti...but was unable to score an appointment. Don't they make a Barbera?

If you like Italian varietals, you should visit Nello Olivo Winery. If Nello is in the tasting room, he will talk your hear off about his wines.

Some of my favorite wineries in El Dorado and Fair Play appellations:
http://www.nelloolivo.com/
http://gracepatriotwines.com/
http://www.jodarwinery.com/
http://winerybythecreek.com/

Unti does make a Barbera, and a Sangiovese, and some Italian whites, too, a Vermentino, I think. I don't think they require an appointment, at least not any more, as they recently built a larger tasting room.

Rather than recommend any other wineries, I suggest instead a tactical approach. In a very short time you can gulp so many wines that your tongue will be as numb as your brain unless you focus your attention and spit a lot out. Instead, you could choose a few select wineries to visit, maybe 3 or 4 in a day tops. This is where I would go: Tulocay, Ridge, Navarro. You could choose your own targets.

Or you could focus on one or two target varietals and ignore the bulk of the offerings at each place. Or even look for wines you have no experience with at all. For example: Cabernets for aging. Late harvest sweet wines. Whites other than Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris/Grigio. Unfiltered unfined wines. Wines from old vines. You get the idea. Don't be afraid to try only one wine at a place if that's all they have that meets your goal.

I just get bored as heck at the fourth place that sells everyone 5 tastes of their low priced reds and common whites, then adds a "just for you" taste of the reserve over-oaked chardonnay. Spare me!

Oh, and don't forget to chat up the people at any restaurant you go to. A bit of interest on your part will often net a recommendation for a visit or even a bottle of something extra special for your meal.

Love N. cal. We loved Russian River area. Last time we stayed at a lovely VRBO off the beaten path in Cazadero (http://www.vrbo.com/190858) and ended up not wanting to leave except for one day at wineries and the others at the coast and driving the back roads. It was one of those trips that you never forget and can't quite be equalled. Maybe a trip where you see the beauty of the area as well as a few wineries?

yes- excellent idea.